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Hashmal
The is an unmanned mobile armor that appears in the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS. Technology & Combat Characteristics The Hashmal is one of the countless Mobile Armors that took the lives of a quarter of the world's population during the Calamity War High Grade Hashmal model kit manual. Mobile Armors are independent, unmanned weapons controlled by their own Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) . Meant for slaughtering humans, they will move towards areas with high human populations for that purpose . Like the Mobile Suits that were developed to counter them, Mobile Armors use Ahab Reactors as their main power source, have a frame made of high hardness, rare alloy, and are covered with nanolaminate armor, making them difficult to destroy 'Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Mechanics & World 2' Book. The Hashmal is designed for ground use; its limbs are actually arms and can be stored in the shoulders 'Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Mechanical Works' Book. Despite being larger than a Mobile Suit, it is much more agile, appearing similar to a bird of prey during attacks . It is armed with a head-mounted beam cannon, a superhard wire blade attached to the back of its head, and a pair of claw-mounted kinetic energy shot launchers. It is usually accompanied by multiple small, unmanned units known as Pluma . Plumas are produced by the Hashmal itself, and they operate based on its orders . Besides serving as attack units, Plumas are also capable of repairing the mobile armor and play various support roles . The Hashmal’s core control unit is exposed on the underside of the head, but landing a direct hit is difficult; not only due to the nanolaminate armor on the rest of the machine but also because of the accompanying Plumas protecting it . Armaments ;*Beam Weapon :Essentially a beam cannon, it is mounted in the head which will open up when the weapon is in use . Has high destructive power and effective range, but could not be fired instantly. It is not used in battles against Mobile Suits or other Mobile Armors, as nanolaminate armor are capable of diffusing beam weapons and minimizing their damage . Instead, the beam weapons are used by Mobile Armors for attacking humans . ;*Kinetic Energy Shot Launcher :Mounted in each claw, the launcher fires projectiles that are essentially rocket-powered spears . These projectiles with their high thrust propulsion system are capable of penetrating the enemy's armor . ;*Superhard Wire Blade :A blade with high hardness attached to a wire made of a special alloy, it is mounted at the back of the head and cannot be reproduced with current Post Disaster-era technology . At room temperature, the wire's special alloy is viscous and can bend flexibly when charged with a trace amount of electrical current . The weapon can move easily in any direction and can be used to launch surprise attacks from blind spots . Equipment ;*Pluma ;*Energy Supply System :Built into the shoulders and located behind the large red panels, the system supplies power to the Plumas via microwaves . Although the system is not directly related to combat, it is proof that the Mobile Armor is an autonomous unmanned weapon, and hence an important function . History At some point during the Calamity War, Hashmal was trapped and buried in a large field of half-metal on Mars by its foes. Unable to detect Ahab Waves due to the half-metal, it entered a state of dormancy. However, the half-metal also made it impossible for Hashmal's foes to detect it. As the Calamity War ended, the Hashmal remained trapped and hidden, becoming one of the few Mobile Armors to survive the conflict. In PD 325, Tekkadan uncovered the Hashmal while excavating the half-metal. McGillis Fareed quickly assembled a group to investigate, explaining the Mobile Armor's history and abilities to his Tekkadan entourage as they traveled to the site. While observing the half-buried Hashmal, they were suddenly confronted by a team of Mobile Suits led by Iok Kujan, who accused McGillis of plotting to earn an Order of the Seven Stars by destroying the Mobile Armor. Despite McGillis's warnings, Iok accidentally awakened the Hashmal when his Reginlaze moved too close to the pit, allowing the Mobile Armor to sense the Mobile Suit's Ahab Waves. After breaking free of the half-metal by firing its beam cannon, it deployed a swarm of Plumas and annihilated Iok's team. Tekkadan took the opportunity to flee and prepare a counterattack; on the other hand, Iok narrowly escaped with a badly damaged Reginlaze thanks to the sacrifices of his men. With all immediate threats to itself removed, the Hashmal directed its Plumas to forage for fuel and materials. Afterward, it set its sights on Chryse to resume its destruction of humanity. Tekkadan tried to ambush it in a canyon, but a failed attack by the vengeful Iok redirected the Mobile Armor towards the Agricultural Center. Ride used his Shiden as a shield against the Hashmal's beam cannon, but the beam diffused against the Shiden's nanolaminate armor, causing heavy damage to the complex and killing the civilians. Ride was then overwhelmed by the Plumas' sheer numbers but was saved by the arrival of Mikazuki and his Gundam Barbatos Lupus. After disengaging the safety limiter on the Barbatos Lupus' Alaya-Vijnana system, Mikazuki heavily damaged the Hashmal and destroyed its core control unit, incurring significant damage to the Gundam and himself in the process. Following its destruction, the tail of the Hashmal was salvaged and transplanted onto the Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex, Gundam Barbatos Lupus' upgraded form. Gallery Hashmal_Beam.jpg|Hashmal firing its beam weapon. ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus (episode 39) without Alaya-Vijnana System's safety limiter (14).jpg|Burning while fighting Barbatos Lupus SD Gundam G Generation Crossrays Hashmal.jpg|''SD Gundam G Generation Crossrays'' Gunpla HGIBO-MobileArmorHashmal.jpg|HGIBO 1/144 Mobile Armor Hashmal (2016): box art Hashmal_pulma.jpg|Hashmal with Pluma Notes & Trivia *Hashmal appears to be named after the Hashmallim (or "Glowing Ones"/"Amber Ones"), one of the ten classes of angels in Judaism. As a result, following with the themes set by the Gundam and Valkyrja lines, it is theorized there are ten mobile armor classes (or at least ten mobile armor units) in the Post Disaster timeline. *Hashmal bears a slight resemblance to Metal Gear RAY from Konami's Metal Gear Solid series. Both are bipedal, dinosaur-like mecha with enlarged "shoulder" appendages, long whip-like tails and narrow heads that contain powerful cannons (one variation of RAY was even armed with a particle weapon similar to Hashmal's beam cannon). Additionally, while the original RAY prototype was piloted, the various production models were all AI-driven. *Concept-wise, Hashmal bears several resemblances to the Mobile Armor Sid from Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. Both are huge, dangerous automated weapons from a previous era of devastating war, have a generally avian build (including massive wings), and possess dangerous beam weaponry not used by modern mobile weapons. References